Reading

My "top ten" books every student of International Relations should read. Last week Tom Ricks offered us his "Top Ten list" of books any student of military history should read.

The FP staff asked me to follow suit with some of my favorites from the world of international politics and foreign policy. What follows aren't necessarily the books I'd put on a graduate syllabus; instead, here are ten books that either had a big influence on my thinking, were a pleasure to read, or are of enduring value for someone trying to make sense of contemporary world politics.

But I've just scratched the surface here, so I invite readers to contribute their own suggestions. 1). Kenneth Waltz, Man, the State, and War. An all-time classic, which I first read as a college sophomore. 2). Combines biology and macro-history in a compelling fashion, explaining why small differences in climate, population, agronomy, and the like turned out to have far-reaching effects on the evolution of human societies and the long-term balance of power. 3). 4). 5). 6). 7).

More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. The winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey are an intriguing mix of classic and contemporary titles. Over on NPR's pop culture blog, Monkey See, you can find one fan's thoughts on how the list shaped up, get our experts' take, and have the chance to share your own.

Popular Books. The Cult's 'Top 10' Books of 2010. It's that time of year again at The Cult when we appropriate Valentine's Day (close enough) for our own celebration as book smitten fiends.

That of course, means publishing our second annual Top Ten list of books from the previous year. It's not only fitting to post this on V-day, but pragmatic too, as I get a lot of books in December and need a month or so to finish up my year-end reading. These go to eleven. Or rather, this list goes to eleven, but let me explain. Friday, a friend mentioned a book to me with such an intriguing title that I immediately looked it up and read an excerpt. Caveats: This list is based on my own highly personal and promiscuous reading habits and does not necessarily reflect our other voracious readers at The Cult, nor are they Chuck’s personal favorites or recommendations.

Ideally, if you read every book on this list, you will know how we got to where we are today. Not all the books on this list are “great.” The criterion for inclusion was not greatness but INFLUENCE. All the books on this list have been enormously influential. The books we chose required some hard choices. We also tried to keep a balance between books that everyone buys and hardly anyone reads versus books that, though not widely bought and read, are deeply transformative. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
40 Modern Nonfiction Books Everyone Should Read. 10 great science fiction novels that have been banned. @djscruffy: And that's why you're a heathen and should be burned at the stake.

@djscruffy: In defense of public schools, I would suggest that the reason many of these books are challenged so often is that they're frequently included in school curriculums and libraries. I grew up in a state that, according to these links, engaged in book-burning less than a decade before my birth. That makes me shudder. But I'm also the child of a public school teacher and am familiar with my mother's and many of her peers' views on children's reading materials. Despite the generally conservative views in my community, my elementary school encouraged me to read A Wrinkle in Time and The Giver and Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret.

I suppose I've wandered a bit. @djscruffy: To be fair, it's not usually the schools that want to ban the books, but the few overprotective parents who make wild assumptions about the books we try to teach.
20 Science Books Every Scifi Fan (and Writer) Should Read. Sam Anderson's Top 10 Books of 2010 - The 2010 Culture Awards. 13 Business Books That Will Blow Your Mind.

Having never taken a business class in college I find that I read and listen to a lot of business books to round out my education.

The books usually aren't "How to Manage Your Cash Flow" but rather get me to rethink the way I run my business, which--despite no business classes or diploma--continues to be in business 13 plus years after I started it. In that time, here are 13 of the books that had the biggest impact on how I run my business (in no particular order): Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink: If you supervise anyone in your business, this book is a must read. It shows that what science knows about motivation, business isn't putting into practice.

In fact, many of the incentives we create can actually de-motivate our employees. The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham: I wanted to have at least one book that was dedicated to small business and the entrepreneurial spirit.